ASPENS AT LAKE TAHOE...CALIFORNIA

ASPENS AT LAKE TAHOE...CALIFORNIA, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

I always loved the look of a thick stand of Aspen in the snow at Lake Tahoe.

I painted this with Watercolor and Ink.

LIA & SANTA 2011

LIA & SANTA 2011, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

Just down the block from me is the Cascade Township Museum...and a huge outdoor Christmas tree.
I have just come from the annual lighting of the tree and my son-in-law who is a fireman drove Santa in the firetruck to the lighting, and then we all went into the Museum for treats and the kids got to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.
This is my granddaughter Lia who is almost 5 years old.

SPATTERED ROSE CARD

SPATTERED ROSE CARD, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

Watercolor Painted Card

I painted this one for a neighbors Birthday next week.

I just love spattering...or have I said that before???...:)
Or maybe you have already figured that out...:) :)

THE END OF AUTUMN

THE END OF AUTUMN, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

I feel sad at the end of Autumn...especially here in Michigan, after the brilliant display of bright colors on the trees, knowing that a lot of bare limbs will take their place...soon to be covered with snow until April!!....:)

Watercolor painting.

TREE ROOT DOODLE

TREE ROOT DOODLE, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

It started with a line...:)

AUTUMN LEAF CARD

AUTUMN LEAF CARD, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

A friend has a Birthday tomorrow...11-11-11...what a unique date!!!

WATERCOLOR & INK PAINTING

TAMARACK LARCH TREE IN MY BACKYARD

TAMARACK LARCH TREE IN MY BACKYARD, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

Tamarack Larch, or Tamarack, or Hackmatack, or American Larch (Larix laricina) is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, West Virginia; there is also a disjunct population in central Alaska. The name Tamarack is the Algonquian name for the species and means "wood used for snowshoes".

It is a small to medium-size deciduous coniferous tree reaching 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 60 centimetres (24 in) diameter. The bark is tight and flaky, pink, but under flaking bark it can appear reddish. The leaves are needle-like, 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) short, light blue-green, turning bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale pinkish-brown shoots bare until the next spring. The needles are produced spirally on long shoots and in dense clusters on short woody spur shoots. The cones are the smallest of any larch, only 1–2.3 cm (0.4–0.9 in) long, with 12-25 seed scales; they are bright red, turning brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4–6 months after pollination.

Key characteristics:[3]

The needles are normally borne on a short shoot in groups of 10–20 needles.
The Larch is deciduous and the needles turn yellow in autumn.
The seed cones are small, less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long, with lustrous brown scales.
Larch are commonly found in swamps, bogs, and other low-land areas.

PEAR FUN

PEAR FUN, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

Today was PLAY day. I have a head cold and didn't feel like concentrating, so I did some fun things...drawing with black acrylic from a pointed bottle, spraying, spattering with a toothbrush and palette knife....not really caring how it turned out.

It brought me to a memory of when I was a young child and my mother made Christmas Cards using a stencil and spattering with a toothbrush. I remember to this day the awe I felt after she had spattered and then lifted the stencil and the card came to life.

I always wanted to do that and when I was in the 8th grade, I made our family Christmas cards using that technique....It has always fascinated me to see a painting come to life with spattering and spraying.

I did get a little carried away on this but it was just FUN!!!....:)

JAPANESE MAPLE

JAPANESE MAPLE, a photo by Louise001 on Flickr.

Watercolor & Ink Painting

I am a bit disappointed in this one.
I used an iridescent Daniel Smith color for shading and the camera picks it up blatantly!
In my painting you cannot see all that blue!!
I thought the painting was somewhat successful until I downloaded it to my HD.
Editing only made it worse, so I went back to the original, and so this is straight out of the camera.

I love Japanese Maple colors..and next time I wont use the iridescent.